Austin Clarke (Canada)
|birth_place= Saint James, Barbados |death_date= June |death_place= Toronto], Ontario, Canada | occupation = Novelist, short story writer, essayist | nationality = Barbadian, Canadian | period = 1960s–2016 | notableworks = The Polished Hoe | spouse = | website = }} Austin Ardinel Chesterfield "Tom" Clarke, (July 26, 1934 – June 26, 2016),"Obituary: Austin Clarke, author", The Scotsman, 27 June 2016. was a Barbadian-born Canadian poet, novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Among his notable books are novels such as The Polished Hoe (2002), memoirs including ‘Membering (2015), and 2 collections of poetry, Where the Sun Shines Best (2013) and In Your Crib (2015). Life Youth and education Clarke was born in 1934 in Saint James, Barbados, where he received his early education in Anglican schools. He taught at a rural school for three years. In 1955 he moved to Canada and attended the University of Toronto for 2 years.Murray Whyte, "Acclaimed Toronto author Austin Clarke dead at 81", Toronto Star, June 27, 2016. Career Clarke was a reporter in the Ontario communities of Timmins and Kirkland Lake before joining the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a freelance journalist. He taught subsequently at several American universities, including Yale University (Hoyt fellow, 1968–70), Duke University (1971–72), and the University of Texas (visiting professor, 1973)."Austin C. Clarke", Gale Contemporary Black Biography."Austin Clarke" , The Canadian Encyclopedia. In 1973 he was designated cultural attaché at the Barbadian embassy in Washington, D.C. He was later General Manager of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados (1975–77)."Austin Clarke", Alliaougana Festival website, 2010. Returning to Canada, in 1977 he ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Ontario election. He was writer in residence at Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec (1977), and at the University of Western Ontario (1978). He became a Canadian citizen in 1981. From 1988 to 1993 he served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.Austin Clarke biography at Bim Literary festival and Book Fair, 2012. Clarke died on June 26, 2016, at the age of 81 in Toronto."Tom Clarke passes", Nationnews, Barbados, West Indies, June 26, 2016.Austin Clarke obituary, National Post, July 5, 2016."Austin Clarke, author of The Polished Hoe, dead at 81", CBC Books, June 26, 2016.The Associated Press, "Austin Clarke, Canadian Author Who Explored Black Experience, Dies at 81", The New York Times, June 27, 2016. Recognition In September 2012, at the International Festival of Authors (IFOA), Clarke was announced as the winner of the $10,000 Harbourfront Festival Prize "on the merits of his published work and efforts in fostering literary talent in new and aspiring writers".Paul Irish, "Austin Clarke wins Harbourfront Festival Prize", TheStar.com, September 28, 2012.Mark Medley, "Austin Clarke wins Harbourfront Festival Prize" , National Post, September 27, 2012. Previous recipients of the award (established in 1984) include: Dionne Brand, Wayson Choy, Christopher Dewdney, Helen Humphreys, Paul Quarrington, Peter Robinson, Seth, Jane Urquhart, and Guy Vanderhaeghe. Clarke was reported as saying: "I rejoiced when I saw that Authors at Harbourfront Centre had named me this year's winner of the Harbourfront Festival Prize. I did not come to this city on September 29, 1959, as a writer. I came as a student. However, my career as a writer buried any contention of being a scholar and I thank Authors at Harbourfront Centre for saving me from the more painful life of the 'gradual student.' It is an honour to be part of such a prestigious list of authors."Austin Clarke named recipient of the Harbourfront Festival Prize", Open Book Toronto, September 28, 2012. Selected awards and prizes *1980, Casa de las Américas Prize, Cuba *1992, Toronto Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature *1997, Lifetime Achievement Award from Frontier College in Toronto *1998, Member of the Order of Canada. *1999, Martin Luther King Junior Award for Excellence in Writing. *1999, W.O. Mitchell Literary Prize *2002, Giller Prize, for The Polished Hoe *2003, Commonwealth Writers' Prize *2009, Toronto Book Award, for More. *2012, Harbourfront Festival Prize Publications Poetry *''Where the Sun Shines Best''. Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2013. *''In Your Crib''. Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2015. Novels *''The Survivors of the Crossing''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1964; London: Heinemann, 1964; Leeds, UK: Peepal Tree Press, 2011. *''Amongst Thistles and Thorns''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1965. *''The Meeting Point''. Toronto: Macmillan, 1967; London: Heinemann, 1967; Boston: Little, Brown, 1972; Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 2005. *''Storm of Fortune: A novel''. Boston: Little, Brown, 1973. *''The Bigger Light''. Boston: Little, Brown, 1975. **''The Prime Minister: A novel''. Don Mills, ON: General, 1977; London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978. *''Proud Empires''. London: Gollancz, 1986; Markham, ON: Viking, 1988. *''The Origin of Waves''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. *''The Question''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999. *''The Polished Hoe''. Toronto: Thomas Allen, 2002; New York: Amistad, 2002. *''More''. Toronto: Thomas Allen, 2008; London: Fourth Estate, 2008; New York: Amistad, 2009. Short fiction *''When He Was Free and Young and He Used to Wear Silks''. Toronto: Anansi, 1971; **revised edition, Boston: Little, Brown, 1973. *''When Women Rule''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1985. *''Nine Men Who Laughed'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1986) Markham, ON, & New York: Penguin, 1986. *''In This City''. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1992. *''There Are No Elders''. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1993. *''The Austin Clarke Reader'', ed. Barry Callaghan (Toronto: Exile Editions, 1996) *''Choosing His Coffin: The best stories of Austin Clarke''. Toronto: Thomas Allen, 2003. *''They Never Told Me: and other stories''. Holstein, ON: Exile Editions, 2013. Non-fiction *''Public Enemies: Police violence and black youth''. Toronto: HarperCollins, 1992. Memoirs *''Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack: A memoir''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1980; Thomas Allen, 2005. *''A Passage Back Home: A personal reminiscence of Samuel Selvon''. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1994. *''Pigtails 'n Breadfruit: A culinary memoir''. New York: New Press, 1999; **also published as Pigtails 'n' Breadfruit: The rituals of slave food; a Barbadian memoir. Toronto: Random House, 1999; Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle / London: Global, 2000. **''Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit: Anniversary edition''. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 2014.Pig Tails 'n' Breadfruit: Anniversary edition, Amazon.ca. Web, Jan. 18, 2017. *''Love and Sweet Food: A culinary memoir''. Toronto: Thomas Allen, 2004. *''′Membering''. Toronto: Dundurn, 2015. Collected editions *''The Austin Clarke Reader'' (edited by Barry Callaghan). Toronto: Exile Editions, 1996. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Austin Clarke 2016, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 18, 2017. Audio / video *''Austin Clarke'' (VHS). Distribution Access, 1997. See also *List of Canadian poets *List of Caribbean poets References External links ;About *Austin Clarke in the Canadian Encyclopedia *Famous Canadian Immigrant Authors *Carol Brennan, "Austin C. Clarke", Gale Contemporary Black Biography *"Austin Clarke", English-Canadian Writers, Athabasca University. *Let all Black People speak this poem: Remembering Austin Clarke, 1934–2016, Quill & Quire *Austin Clarke interview by Linda Richards, January magazine, November 2002. *[http://arcpoetry.ca/2015/12/10/to-write-a-black-poem-austin-clarkes-in-your-crib/ review of In Your Crib Category:1934 births Category:2016 deaths Category:Barbadian emigrants to Canada Category:Black Canadian writers Category:Canadian male novelists Category:Canadian male short story writers Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:Members of the Order of Ontario Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada Category:Writers from Toronto Category:University of Toronto alumni Category:Barbadian novelists Category:Barbadian male writers Category:20th-century Canadian novelists Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:20th-century Canadian short story writers Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers